In-line vibratory feeder assembly

ABSTRACT

An in-line vibratory feeder having means for adjusting the coilarmature gap in the field under operating conditions to maximize the feed rate and vibratory amplitude.

United States Patent Filed inventor Appl. No.

Patented lN-LINE VIBRATORY FEEDER ASSEMBLY 9 Claims, 11 Drawing Figs.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,094,787 10/1937 Flint 198/220 DC 3,322,260 5/1967 Schwenzfeur 198/220 DC Primary Examiner- Richard E. Aegerter Attorney-Dominik, Knechtel & Godula ABSTRACT: An in-line vibratory feeder having means for adjusting the coil-armature gap in the field under operating conditions to maximize the feed rate and vibratory amplitude.

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IN-LINE VIBRATORY FEEDER ASSEMBLY This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 792,303, filed Jan. 21, I969.

The present invention relates to an in-line vibratory feeder assembly, and more particularly to an improvement in the same which facilitates adjustability and mass distribution.

Vibratory in-line feeders with dynamic attempts at balancing are shown in Schwenzfeier US. Pat. No. 3,222,260. In the course of translating such an in-line feeder into commercial application, however, it is highly desirable to provide a construction in which the masses of the action and reaction masses are susceptible of equalization to minimize the necessity for large castings to absorb any harmonic deviations. Furthermore, han'nonic deviations can be additionally reduced by positioning the centers of gravity of the action and reaction masses as closely coincident as commensurate with space limitations.

It is additionally desirable to provide for effective spring lengths of equal amounts on their respective masses. In short, the parallel springs on the action mass should be of the same effective length, and the parallel springs on the reaction mass should be of the same effective length. In addition, it is highly desirable to provide for coil-armature gap adjustment to adjust the amplitude of the vibratory feeder under fixed voltage and frequency conditions.

Hearing the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an in-line vibratory feeder with means for adjusting the coil-armature gap in the field under operating conditions to maximize the feed rate and vibratory amplitude. A more specific related object of the invention is to provide a coil gap adjustment which is coordinated with the covering plate for the unit and additionally serves to mount the coil with its operational axis perpendicular to the plane of the springs of the reaction mass.

A further and significant object of the present invention is to provide an in-line vibratory feeder with a reaction mass body providing a configuration to more closely relate the centers of gravity of the action mass to the center of gravity of the reaction mass. A related and significant object of the invention looks to the provision of an in-line vibratory feeder in which the configuration of the reaction mass body coupled with the coil gap adjusting means permits optimizing the masses of the action and reaction mass by relocation of parts, rather than by adding additional unnecessary weight to achieve the balance.

Still another object is to provide an in-line vibratory feeder of a construction such that the coil and armature can be reversed so that the armature is on the reaction mass and the coil is secured to the action mass.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description of an illustrative embodiment proceeds, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary view of an in-line vibratory feeder connected between a vibratory bowl feeder and an automatic assembly machine which is fed by the subject in-line vibratory feeder.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partially broken view of the in-line vibratory feeder shown in FIG. li.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the vibratory feeder in the same scale as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the vibratory in-line feeder shown in FIG. 2 in the same scale as FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the yoke portion of the reaction mass showing in phantom lines the orientation of the power unit coil.

FIG. 6 is a front elevation of the action mass feeder track support.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section view of the action mass feeder track support in the same scale as shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a front elevation of the reaction mass base showing (as in FIGS. 6 and 7) the mounting of the leaf springs which yieldably support the action and reaction masses.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged partially broken view of an in-line feeder having the armature thereof on the reaction mass and the coil thereof secured to the action mass.

FIG. 10 is a front elevation of the yoke portion of the reaction mass of the feeder of FIG. 9.

FIG. II is a longitudinal section view of the action mass feeder track support of the feeder of FIG. 9.

One illustration of the utility of an in-line vibratory feeder is shown in FIG. II. There it will be seen that a bowl feeder 5 is employed to orient and deliver a plurality of small parts to the illustrative in-line feeder 10 which, in turn, delivers the same to an assembly machine 6. One of the significant advantages of the use of a vibratory in-line feeder is that the bowl feeder 5, the in-line vibratory feeder l0, and the assembly machine 6 can all be secured to a common base 8, and generally speaking the flow of materials is in a horizontal plane, rather than relying substantially upon gravity and a track for delivery from the bowl feeder 5 to the assembly machine 6. By employing the inline vibratory feeder 10, a single operator at below eye-level is in a better position to constantly monitor the function of the entire unit, and also to deliver small parts to one or more bowl feeders which may be employed with the assembly machine 6. Indeed, in some operations such as those employed in the manufacturing of aerosol can caps, upwards of five to six bowl feeders may be employed, each of which is feeding a differently shaped part to a single assembly machine. Under these circumstances, having the bowl feeder directly coupled to an in-line feeder more positively insures the delivery of small parts on an uninterrupted basis to the assembly machine 6.

As set forth above, the present invention constitutes an improvement over that disclosed in Otto K. Schwenzfeier US. Pat. No. 3,222,260, and more particularly the construction shown in FIG. 2 of that patent. It is one ultimate goal of the present invention to achieve a vibratory in-line feeder in which the action mass and reaction mass are optimized. Another object is to align the vibratory axis perpendicular with that of the suspension springs. A further object is to be able to adjust the gap between the coil and the armature under field conditions. Bearing this in mind, it will be seen from FIG. 2 that the reaction mass 12 includes the coil 20 and coil mounting yoke 25. The action mass 11, on the other hand, includes the track base 114 and track 15 and the associated parts 116.

The action mass ll is supported by means of parallel action mass leaf springs l8 defining the end perimeters of the in-line feeder 110. The reaction mass springs 19 are parallel and closely proximate to the action mass springs 18, but secured at their lower end to the base 13. Thus the base 13 serves, through the medium of the action mass springs 18 and reaction mass springs 19, to yieldably support both masses and provide a common denominator for mounting the in-line feeder 10 to a base table or other datum.

It will be noted that the coil yoke 25 is U-shaped with offset ends which are secured to the reaction mass springs 19. The U-shaped or depending portion of the coil yoke 25 accommodates the mass of the coil 20. The coil 20, in turn, is mounted with its magnetic axis perpendicular to the action and reaction mass springs 18, 19, and in offset gap relationship to the L-shaped armature 21 which is secured underneath the track base 14 portion of the action mass II.

The closure for the unit is formed by a pair of sideplates 22 (best seen in FIG. 4) in their spaced-apart relationship to the action mass springs at the opposite ends of the in-line feeder 10. A plurality of mounting screws 24 are provided in each of the sideplates in opposed positions to permanently secure the coil 20 to the sideplates 22. A coil gapl porthole 30 is provided for visual observation of the gap spacing.

To adjust the gap between the coil 20 and the armature 21, guide slots 26 are provided in the opposed sideplates 22 to receive the adjusting screws 28. While the axis of the longitudinal guide slots 26 is shown as parallel with the base 13, they may optionally be aligned in accordance with the magnetic axis of the coil 20. Thus in operation, the adjusting screws 28 may be loosened, and the coil and its connected parallel sideplates adjusted 'with relationship to the coil yoke 25 and the armature 21, as observed through the porthole 30, until the desired gap to achieve the operating amplitude required sideplates of aluminum, or thin section ferrous metals or alloys. The action mass 1 1 includes the weight of the track base 14, and track 15. In operating practice, no mass is assigned to the parts 16 moving in the track 15. Nevertheless, anticipating a track weighing 8 ounces, a commercial unit, as illustrated, can be made with sufficient balancing of the action and reaction masses to substantially reduce vibration and achieve excellent manufacturing economies.

As will be observed particularly in FIG. 4, the coil yoke 25 is slightly wider than the width of the track base 14, and is secured in abutting relationship with the sideplates 22. A plate gap 29 is defined between the plates 22 and the action mass leaf spring 18.

The mounting of the springs is significant in that the effective sprung length of the action mass springs 18 must be identical, and the effective sprung length of the reaction mass springs 19 must be identical. In order to achieve this end, spring keeper plates 31 are employed in all instances where one of the springs l8, 19 is secured to either the track base 14, the main base 13, or the coil yoke 25.

Turning now to H6. 5, it will be seen that the coil yoke 25 has a central recessed portion 34 giving the yoke a U-shaped type configuration (or a'C-shaped configuration on its side). The spring support ends 35 of the coil yoke 25 are faced and tapped and threaded to receive the spring bolts 32. As mentioned above, the spring bolts 32 pass through the keeper plates 31 in order to grasp the associated spring in a viselike fashion, the thickness of the spring keeper plates 31 as well as the width being determined in order to equalize the effective unclamped length of the action mass springs 18 and the reaction mass springs 19.

As will be further observed in H0. 5, the coil yoke 25 is drilled and tapped with adjusting screw holes 36 to receive the adjusting screws 28 and accommodate their function as set forth with regard to the description of FIG. 2 above.

The track base 14 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. It will be seen that the upper portion of the track base is flat and may be preferentially drilled and tapped for the mounting of any desired track for employment on the in-line vibratory feeder. Parallel finished spring mounting faces 38 are provided at one end on the very end of the track base 14, and at the other end on a depending spring lug 39. In both instances the spring mounting faces 38 are parallel, and drilled and tapped to receive the spring mounting bolts 32. Further, as will be observed, a coil accommodation recess 40 is provided at the bottom of the track base 14 to provide as much clearance as possible for positioning the coil in between the track base 14 and the coil yoke 25.

The base 13 for the entire unit is illustrated in FIG. 8. There it will be seen that the base spring mounting lugs 41 are provided angled upwardly from the base body portion to approximate the angularity of the action mass springs 18 and the reaction mass springs 19. The base spring mounting lugs 41 are finished at their opposed faces to define the separation distance between the action mass and reaction mass parallel springs l8, 19. Each of the lugs 41 is provided with a spring bolt bore 42 to assist in mounting the adjacent parallel action mass and reaction mass springs l8, 19. It will be further observed that shoulders 44 are provided at the lower terminus of each of the parallel faces of the base spring mounting lugs, to abuttingly receive the spring keeper plates 31, and dampen the same in a viselike configuration to the end that the free or vibratory portion of the action mass and reaction mass springs 18, 19 may be determined and equalized for balance.

As indicated above, the construction of the feeder 10 can be reversed so that the armature 21 is on the reaction mass 12 and the coil 20 is secured to the action mass 11. A feeder 10 of this construction is illustrated in FIG. 9. It will be noted that the advantage of adjustability of coil gap results from either configuration.

More particularly, as can be seen in FIG. 9, the armature 21 is secured to the coil yoke 25, by means of one of the spring bolts 32. The latter extends through an aperture in the armature, the spring bolt bore in the coil yoke 25, and through an aperture in the reaction mass springs 19, to secure them all together.

The sideplates 22, in this case, are affixed to the track base 14, by means of at least a pair of mounting screws 50, and the coil 20 is adjustably affixed to the sideplates 22 by means of the adjusting screws 28 extending through the guide slots 26. The guide slots 26 now extend perpendicular to the armature 21, so that the gap between the coil 20 and the armature 21 can be adjusted by moving the coil 20 forward or backward along the length of the guide slots 26.

With this construction, it can be seen that the armature 21 now is affixed to the reaction mass 12, rather than to the action mass 11. Likewise, the coil 20 by virtue of its being affixed to the sideplates 22 and the latter being affixed to the track base 14 is afiixed to the action mass 11 instead of the reaction mass 12.

in referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, it can be seen that the only change in the construction of the coil yoke 25 is the elimination of the need to provide the tapped adjusting screw holes 36 in it, as illustrated in FIG. 5. The track base 14 is simply modified, by providing tapped screw holes 51 for receiving the mounting screws 50 for affixing the sideplates 22 to it.

ln review, it will be seen that the ultimate objectives of the invention have been achieved in the exemplary embodiments of an in-line vibratory feeder 10 as disclosed and described. It is possible to adjust the gap between the coil and the armature without major assembly change, and under field conditions to achieve the most desirable feed rate and amplitude for the given operation. Additionally, by the inherent design, the action masses and reaction masses can be made in an optimum equalized ratio. Furthennore, with ordinary 60-cycle, 1 l0-volt current, good action can be achieved, particularly with the coil gap adjustment, without resort to frequency or voltage control as in other types of vibratory feeders.

It also has been shown that the mountings of the coil and the armature can be reversed in a fashion such that the masses may be altered, but with no significant change in the masses. Additionally, while a solenoid and armature are shown as the power unit, it is possible to substitute pneumatic units, or eccentrically driven vibratory means within the basic structuredisclosed. I

Although several embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in full here, there is no intention to thereby limit the invention to the details of such embodiments. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative embodiments, usages and equivalents of the disclosure as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention, specification, and appended claims.

lclaim: 1. An in-line vibratory feeder comprising, in combination, an action mass having track-mounting means thereon; a reaction mass; a coil; an armature for actuation by the coil; a base member having spaced spring-mounting means thereon; a pair of action mass elongate springs secured to the base and action mass; a pair of reaction mass elongate springs secured to the base and the reaction mass; said reaction mass having a coil yoke member relief portion to provide coil clearance and secured at its ends to the reaction mass springs; means for mounting the armature to one of said masses;

and a pair of coil-mounting plates having securing means thereon to flankingly engage the coil and secure the same to the plates, and second securing means to secure the plates to the other said mass, one of said securing means being adjustable thereby permitting an adjustment of the gap between the coil and the armature.

2. In the in-line vibratory feeder of claim ll, wherein said armature is mounted to said action mass, and said coil-mounting plates are secured to said reaction mass.

3. In the in-line vibratory feeder of claim 1, wherein said armature is mounted to said reaction mass and said coil-mounting plates are secured to said action mass.

4. In the in-line feeder of claim l, the action and reaction mass springs being parallel pairs, and each pair having equal effective unsupported lengths.

5. In the in-line feeder of claim 4, said armature and coil being mounted with the coil magnetic axis perpendicular to the action and reaction mass springs.

6. In the in-line feeder of claim 5, an L-shaped armature secured beneath the action mass track base, one leg of the L secured to the track base, the other leg perpendicular to the coil magnetic axis.

7. In the in-line feeder of claim 1, equal action and reaction masses.

8. In the in-line feeder of claim 1, means defining a porthole in the sideplates thereby permitting visual observation of the gap between the coil and annature.

9. In the in-line feeder of claim 1, means defining slots in the sideplate opposite the coil yoke, means for securing the sideplates and coil to the yoke whereby the coil gap may be adjusted by moving the sideplates and coil along the axis of the slots, the action and reaction springs being parallel pairs, each pair having equal effective lengths, said armature and coil being mounted with the coil magnetic axis perpendicular to the action and reaction mass springs, an L-shaped armature secured beneath the action mass track base, one leg of the L secured to the track base, the other leg perpendicular to the coil magnetic axis, the whole proportioned to equalize the mass of the action and reaction masses.

l l l l ll 

1. An in-line vibratory feeder comprising, in combination, an action mass having track-mounting means thereon; a reaction mass; a coil; an armature for actuation by the coil; a base member having spaced spring-mounting means thereon; a pair of action mass elongate springs secured to the base and action mass; a pair of reaction mass elongate springs secured to the base and the reaction mass; said reaction mass having a coil yoke member relief portion to provide coil clearance and secured at its ends to the reaction mass springs; means for mounting the armature to one of said masses; and a pair of coil-mounting plates having securing means thereon to flankingly engage the coil and secure the same to the plates, and second securing means to secure the plates to the other said mass, one of said securing means being adjustable thereby permitting an adjustment of the gap between the coil and the armature.
 2. In the in-line vibratory feeder of claim 1, wherein said armature is mounted to said action mass, and said coil-mounting plates are secured to said reaction mass.
 3. In the in-line vibratory feeder of claim 1, wherein said armature is mounted to said reaction mass and said coil-mounting plates are secured to said action mass.
 4. In the in-line feeder of claim 1, the action and reaction mass springs being parallel pairs, and each pair having equal effective unsupported lengths.
 5. In the in-line feeder of claim 4, said armature and coil being mounted with the coil magnetic axis perpendicular to the action and reaction mass springs.
 6. In the in-line feeder of claim 5, an L-shaped armature secured beneath the action mass track base, one leg of the L secured to the track base, the other leg perpendicular to the coil magnetic axis.
 7. In the in-line feeder of claim 1, equal action and reaction masses.
 8. In the in-line feeder of claim 1, means defining a porthole in the sideplates thereby permitting visual observation of the gap between the coil and armature.
 9. In the in-line feeder of claim 1, means defining slots in the sideplate opposite the coil yoke, means for securing the sideplates and coil to the yoke whereby the coil gap may be adjusted by moving the sideplates and coil along the axis of the slots, the action and reaction springs being parallel pairs, each pair having equal effective lengths, said armature and coil being mounted with the coil magnetic axis perpendicular to the action and reaction mass springs, an L-shaped armature secured beneath the action mass track base, one leg of the L secured to the track base, the other leg perpendicular to the coil magnetic axis, the whole proportioned to equalize the mass of the action and reaction masses. 